From Here to Eternity
by Determined Dragon
Summary: Ch. 1-6 revised. In the days after the Jellicle Ball, an elaborate revenge plot torments the Tribe and forces them to find answers in their past. Multiple pairings, character deaths, violence, and sexual content throughout.
1. I

A/N: _The story you are about to read is nothing more than a somewhat complex idea that came about while reading the works of other authors on this site. I will say that I'm a highly experienced writer new to this type of writing. I would love for everyone that reads this to review it. Good or bad, I want to hear what you have to say._

DISCLAIMER: _Obviously, I do not own Cats. If I did, it would have been a massive theatrical failure. _

* * *

I.

Any street or house cat familiar with them was aware that the Jellicle Tribe was tightly knit and very close. As they were one of the smaller feline groups within the vicinity, their home was confined to just one location.

This location was an ordinary junkyard in one of the farther reaches of the city. Although there wasn't much in terms of surroundings, it was still easily neglected in the human eye. They found nothing significant about it, assuming it was nothing more than a filthy lot with the occasional stray animal.

A few cats made customary visits to the tribe annually. All of them were in agreement that the Jellicles were probably the happiest and more than likely had the greatest connection with the Heaviside Layer. Others say it's because some of the cats have actual owners, which tends to not be the case for the other tribes.

No matter what force it was that fueled this happiness, it could only be crushed by something that few would think of.

Then again, was there anyone out there who would even think of doing such a thing?

* * *

It was on this clear night that sleep had come easily to an exhausted Jellylorum. Who wouldn't fall asleep after devoting an entire day to chasing three unruly kittens around the junkyard? Though she had been doing it for the majority of her life, she still hadn't quite gotten used to the demands of the job.

As much as she wanted to keep her eyes closed, the cream and yellow queen had the irritating habit of awakening at even the faintest of sounds nearby. A knock on the small sheet metal door of her den managed to accomplish just that.

Grumbling to herself with fatigue, Jellylorum leapt off her bed and pushed the sharp gray surface aside. She scoffed at not only who it was, but the fact that the sky was still dark. "Oh please tell me this is important."

The two cats stood underneath a pink children's umbrella decorated with an assortment of little balloons. Whether or not they were actually expecting rain, they both wore wide grins on their faces. They were the tribe's oldest couple and her closest friends, Skimbleshanks and Jennyanydots.

"I take it you were still asleep," Skimbleshanks chuckled, his left arm dangling around the queen beside him.

"I was and you both need to leave right now. Until it is time to wake up, I am not performing any task that requires me to leave this den."

"No one is awake yet! The sun will be up soon dear," Jennyanydots replied with a voice that showed she had been out of bed for sometime now. Her friend was always amazed at how she could gain so much energy in a very short period of time. "Would you care to join us for an early morning stroll?"

She placed her head against the side of the doorway and sighed. "Jenny, it's too early." At her age, Jellylorum rarely complained about anything but this occasion simply begged for it.

"Wouldn't you rather do it now before the young ones get up and-"

"I'm coming," she muttered as she stumbled out of her den and bent over so that her paws touched the ground. "I will need as much peace as possible if I'm going to watch them by myself again today." Jellylorum was the opposite of a morning cat as she stretched herself outward and yawned loud enough to awaken every other entity within earshot.

Skimbleshanks cleared his throat. "Well, it's just 'bout that time. I'll see you both tonight."

"I'll have some mouse cakes and tea ready when you get back." Jenny gave Skimble a quick peck on the cheek before he darted off in the direction of the train station. She then turned back to her permanent assistant.

"I must know, are we expecting a storm," Jelly asked, referring to the hideous umbrella Jenny was still holding above her head.

"Oh, you mean this?" She held it up even higher, her arm stretched to its full length upwards. "You remember how Skimble claims that he knows when it's going to rain and he's wrong half the time?"

Jellylorum finally managed to crack a smile, remembering how Skimbleshanks had once tried to convince everyone to reinforce their dens in preparation for a monsoon that never happened. "You mean he did it again?"

Jennyanydots nodded and tossed the umbrella into a nearby cardboard box. "Actually, there is something I need to speak with you about."

"Jenny, is it about those burnt cakes I left in your den last night? Little Electra only asked me for a baking lesson and you know how I am with cooking. I just couldn't tell her no."

"It's not that," Jennyanydots laughed. She gave a small backwards leap and seated herself on the ground, prompting Jellylorum to sit beside her. "But I must say that I really don't appreciate the fact you abandoned them on my nice clean floor."

"I promise I won't do it again if you just tell me what this is about."

The Gumbie Cat pulled her close, her expression quickly becoming serious. "This is just between you and me Jelly. Victoria talked to me late last night. She claims that a strange cat has been hanging around outside for the last couple of days. She said that when she tried to approach her, she would always vanish without a trace."

Whenever it came to a matter such as this involving any one of the kittens, Jellylorum always felt the need to take immediate action. "Jenny, isn't this information you and Victoria ought to share with Munkustrap?"

"Munkustrap has enough things on his mind right now. Honesty, I don't believe this is a problem at the moment but I want you to keep an eye out. Don't say anything to the others unless it's necessary."

"What about the other kittens, did they see anything?"

"Not to my knowledge. Are you wide awake now?"

Jellylorum rubbed her eyes for the umpteenth time. "I'm almost there. May I ask why?"

The other queen held up her right paw, and bent down each of the clawed fingers one-by-one. "Five, four, three, two, one."

"Aunt Jelly, Pouncival hit me again!"

Jennyanydots turned back to her, a rather large grin pasted on her face. "How about now, or would you prefer that I take care of it?"

"No." Jellylorum inhaled deeply and stared straight ahead. "I believe that it is now time for me to do what I was born here to do. Set the young ones straight."

Both of the aging queens leapt up and proceeded in the direction of the fight that was about to ensue between two separate sets of younger paws.

* * *

"I didn't even touch her, she's just trying to get me in trouble again," the tom kitten complained to an already irritated Jellylorum. It was now later in the day and these two seemed to be having issues when it came to not harassing one another frequently.

"Liar," Etcetera hollered from several feet away.

"You're the liar," Pouncival yelled back.

"THAT'S ENOUGH FROM BOTH OF YOU," Jelly screamed as loud as she could. "I just woke up and you've already given me a splitting headache. Now, I don't care who touched who. I want the two of you to give me your word that you will get along for the rest of the day. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes Jelly," Etcetera and Pouncival muttered in unison. She then released the two to go back to their game.

Jellylorum threw herself backward onto a patch of grass, her paws rubbing vigorously at her sore head. She coughed several times, leaving scratches in her throat.

"You do not look well Jellylorum."

She looked up and saw the female half of the mystic twins perched on top of a small mountain of metal. "Oh hello Tantomile. Where's your brother?"

"Busy I believe. You usually don't let the kittens off so easily. Why don't you consider taking the rest of the day off?"

She glared up at the shining sun in utter annoyance. As lovely as one entire afternoon of sleep sounded, it was a luxury that was unavailable today. "I'll pass, but thanks for the suggestion."

"I must insist. Stay in your den at least for the next few hours."

Jellylorum grasped her throat as she coughed again. Tantomile clearly knew she was ill. "I appreciate your concern but you know Jenny is trying to do other things right now."

"I will help her. Those kittens need to get inside also."

"The kittens are fine." She looked closer at Tantomile. There was something in her eyes that was very unfamiliar. She could not recall ever seeing it before. For no particular reason, Jelly saw fear. "What's the matter with you?"

Tantomile jumped down and landed on all fours in front of her. "You and the kittens are in danger. Take them somewhere safe before it's too late."

She was telling the truth, as Tantomile, Coricopat, or any Jellicle for that matter, were aware it was against both Munkustrap's rules and the Everlasting Cat's unwritten code of ethics to joke around about a situation such as this. Still, Jellylorum was not fully convinced. "Tanto, can you at least tell me what's going to happen?"

"I-I can't." She almost sounded as if she was going to burst into tears. "Just do it Jelly." Tantomile leapt back up and darted away.

She stayed where she was and analyzed what she had been told. Was something bad about to happen? Was that young queen just losing it? Most of all, Jellylorum wondered what Jenny would do in her position.

The answer was all too easy. "Fine, I'll round them up." She got to her feet and moved to stretch herself out for the hundredth time that day. Before it could be done, her legs were yanked out from underneath, causing her face to hit the dirt surface.

Jellylorum quickly spat out the brown dust that ended up in her mouth. She tried to stand up and something large planted itself firmly on her back, pushing her back down. It pressed hard and put pressure on her lungs. A searing pain shot through her chest and forced her to cough and gag loudly.

Managing to turn her head to the left, she saw herself in a sparkling silver hubcap. It was a black foot that was on her spine. Jellylorum's eyes widened in horror as the foot lifted itself up and stomped down on her again. Besides the pain being even worse now, she was unable to breathe.

Her eyes remained focused on her reflection. The owner of the foot kneeled down with one leg on each side of her. Jellylorum could make out the form of a young queen but her vision was now so clouded that she couldn't make out any other distinguishing features. She was in shock and none of her joints felt as if they were still parts of her body. She could feel the soft touch of a paw on her muzzle, only to have it clamp over her nose and mouth and completely seal her breathing chambers shut. Tears coursed from Jellylorum's eyes as she realized what was happening to her. Within a couple of minutes, her lungs and heart had ceased to function.

Once she was certain she wasn't going to get back up, the unknown queen slowly laid Jellylorum's head on the ground, stood up and walked away.


	2. II

DISCLAIMER: _No, I don't own them, nor do I want to. Being a fan is enough fun for me._

* * *

II.

It was a simple common recipe. It drove to Jennyanydots to question just how badly it could be misunderstood. By the time she finished sweeping up the remnants of Jellylorum's failed day-old concoction, she was already working on the same recipe again with a little queen beside her.

"How much longer?" The small tortoise shell stood on her hind paws in anticipation as her latest project was set down on the small metal table.

"It's just about ready." Jennyanydots lifted the clean checkered cloth cover off the heated black pan for Electra to see. "There, think that will be good enough?"

"I think they look good Aunt Jenny, may I try one?"

"Of course you may," she said as she allowed Electra to taste one of the freshly baked mousecakes. "But just one. We need to share with the other kittens and anyone else who wants to try them."

Electra pried one out and popped it into her mouth and chewed thoroughly, savoring the warm and chewy texture and favor. Jenny could tell by the look of satisfaction on her face that their endeavor had been successful. "Now tell me Electra, what did you learn from this experience?"

"Don't ask Aunt Jelly for another cooking lesson?"

"That's right," Jennyanydots chuckled. "I suppose I can trust you not to say anything to her about this, am I correct?"

"I promise I won't tell her. Thank you Aunt Jenny!" Electra bounced out of the old car in search of other kittens that were in need of a treat.

Just as Jenny was putting the cover back on the pan, an unusually concerned sleek female burst into the den. "Jenny I need your help outside."

"Oh hello Cassandra." She took the cover back off the pan. "Would you like a cake? Electra and I just baked them."

"Not right now. Tantomile's out here freaking out and I don't know why. Think you could help me find Coricopat?"

"I'll be right out." Jenny set the pan back down on the table and made her way outside. As soon as her back was turned, the pan of cakes managed to shift its position from the rusted surface to an unfamiliar set of paws.

Mungojerrie slid out of the car through the other side, holding the pan with his left paw. However, it was not until that point that he realized the pan wasn't quite cool to the touch yet. Yowling with pain, he lost his grip on the metal cooking utensil, causing it to touch the ground bottom first.

Rumpelteazer poked her head out from behind a decaying bush. She found it to be difficult to contain a fit of laughter upon seeing her longtime companion jumping around in circles, his right paw tightly embedded in his mouth. The pan was sitting on the light brown dirt with every cake still in it. "You didn't grab Jenny's mitts Jerrie," she yelled to him.

"Lay off Teazah!" He picked up it up again after scanning it with a claw to ensure that it was now at a decent temperature. "You want 'em or not?"

"I want 'em!"

Mungojerrie handed over the pan and watched the other tabby as she wolfed down every single one of the cakes.

To the eyes of any of the other Jellicles, there was nothing unusual about this sight. What made him a bit nervous about it was that she had been doing this for the last few days, ever since he stumbled upon something he clearly was never meant to see.

* * *

It wasn't too long ago that their employment under the Napoleon of Crime had ended. At that point, they were practically the most trusted out of his many servants. Still, Mungojerrie and Rumpelteazer had made a pact at the very beginning to never leave one another alone while in the ginger cat's presence. The stories of his exploits were already circulating, enough to send a small chill through one's soul.

There were two reasons why they joined the organization. The first was that their mischievous ways had resulted in their banishment from their home in Victoria Grove and they options were very minimal. On top of that, they both developed a somewhat incurable addiction to the rush that came with stealing and found themselves reaping its benefits on a daily basis.

There came a point where the pact was no longer effective. He never spoke to them openly, so it was nothing short of a surprise when Macavity approached them one night and asked Rumpelteazer to come accompany him to his private room for a while.

Curiosity hit Mungojerrie hard. Staying in the shadows of the warehouse's corridors, he followed her and listened outside the door to their conversation.

"Go ahead and make yourself comfortable." Macavity allowed her to sit on his bed. "This is just going to be between you and me. Do you understand?"

Rumpelteazer nodded and sat down next to him.

"Do you enjoy your job here?"

"I-uh, well, I guess I like it." One cannot blame Rumpelteazer for not knowing how to respond. Macavity almost never talked to this own subordinates period, let alone ask how they were.

"All of the cats here lack the skills and essential leadership qualities needed to lead this organization. I know I have plenty of time, but I have to plan far ahead in advance." He leaned over and put an arm around her, his mouth near her ear. "I want you as my most trusted female to carry my kittens."

Mungojerrie felt his heart sink to an unbelievably low level. His best friend and the love of his life was at the center of a rather delicate subject.

The reaction she gave was not one Mungojerrie either expected or hoped for. "Of course I'll do it!"

What he heard next was yet another phrase he didn't believe Macavity had ever said to anyone before. "Thank you. This means a lot to me."

He slowly ran a paw up Rumpelteazer's right outer thigh, then pulled it forward, twisting her onto her back. Macavity crawled over her until his face was directly above hers. "Are you ready?"

"Yes, I can take it." Rumpelteazer closed her eyes as he leaned down and kissed her until she began to moan. It was at that point that Mungojerrie fled. There was more to the conversation but it no longer interested him.

Over the couple of days that followed, Macavity would summon Rumpelteazer for a few more mating sessions until it began to affect the work of the notorious duo. There were multiple occasions in which they would have to stop for extended breaks in the middle of a job because she was complaining either about stomach cramps or being hungry.

Every time this happened, the normally easy-going Mungojerrie found himself becoming more and more irritated with her. Their last job brought them to a mansion a mile or so from the warehouse. Before it was over, he was tempted to give up completely. "C'mon Teazah, we're never going to finish at this rate."

"I don't feel so hot," she gasped. "I don't feel like workin' Jerrie." Rumpelteazer was lying on her side, breathing heavily. Pain and anguish were visible in her eyes.

Mungojerrie swore and threw his sack of stolen goods in a corner. "Fine, we'll go back."

They left the large house and made a brisk five-minute run back to the crime organization's compound, which to the human eye was a small rundown warehouse.

Upon setting foot inside their private room, she collapsed and began weeping. Her friend sat by her and stared into her agonized eyes. There was no trace of her playful and active personality. "I remember," he said quietly. "The last time you cried was when we got kicked out of the master's house."

Instead of responding to him, Rumpelteazer buried her face in her paws. Mungojerrie lifted her up and wrapped his arms around her as tight as he was physically able. "Is there somethin' you wanna say to me?"

"Oh Mungo," she sobbed into his fur. "I screwed up real bad. I'm carrying Macavity's kittens."

"I know, but why Rumpy? Why did you say yes to him?"

"I thought I could make things better for us by making him happy. I haven't liked him since we first came here." She tightened her grip around his neck. "Can we run away? I don't wanna stay here."

"Let's get outta here tonight," he whispered in her ear. "Right now when he won't be lookin' for us."

Those words were all that was necessary. Within the hour, the cats devised a plan for an immediate and effective escape.

They took their entire treasure collection and scattered it all over their room, hoping to give Macavity the idea that they had gotten into a fight. Taking the first available opportunity when they would be able to get out of the warehouse without being seen, they set off for a haven that the two of them recalled hearing about in the past.

The first two steps were almost too easy for the sneakiest pair of felines in London. By sunrise, they were standing in front the place that was known as the Jellicle Junkyard.

"Mungojerrie?"

He turned to look at her. "Yes Rumpelteazer?"

"We're not going to stop stealin', are we?"

"Don't know. We should stop, but then how we gonna rebuild our collection?"

"Good point," she laughed for the first time in what seemed like an eternity. "There's one other thing."

He found himself moving closer to her. "What?"

She cupped both sides of his face and pulled him in. "Kiss me Mungo."

He needed no further explanation. Kissing her was something he had always wanted to do and as he did it, they both felt holes in their hearts being filled. She broke it, but continued staring into his eyes. "They're your kittens now, but let's keep it a secret."

"Anythin' for you my mate."

Mungojerrie and Rumpelteazer then linked paws and walked toward the entrance where Munkustrap was already waiting for them.

* * *

"I was hopin' you'd leave one for me."

In less than ten minutes, Rumpelteazer had managed to inhale all twenty mousecakes before throwing the pan on the ground. Mungojerrie looked her over, noticing that she was starting to gain weight and not because of her eating habits. As she was licking her paws clean, he moved behind her and grabbed and stroked both of her thighs.

She looked up at his smiling face and flashed him a toothy grin. "I'm not doin' that now Mungo. Still wanna taste the cake anyway?"

"Hell yeah." He put a paw around her shoulder and locked his lips with hers, his mouth filled with her tongue and saliva. He could taste the cake and it was delicious.

She picked up the empty pan and handed it back to Mungojerrie. "Hey, these weren't supposed to be for everyone were they?"

"I think they were."

"Looks like we're in trouble now," Rumpelteazer giggled. "Let's put it back before Jenny sees its gone."

The two tabbies laughed headed for the Gumbie Cat's den, breaking into a race at one point. It ended only because Mungojerrie had tripped face first over a dead cat with his mate screaming behind him.


	3. III

DISCLAIMER:_ Do I really look like I would be able to own something like this right now? _

* * *

III.

Over the years, she was one of the cats the other Jellicles would often approach when they needed help with the little things in life. Jennyanydots didn't need to see Tantomile pacing back and forth to know that something was wrong.

The twins were among those who had spent their entire lives at the junkyard, but neither one of them had ever exhibited this kind of behavior before. They were always calm and collected, never in a state of panic such as the one she was now experiencing.

"Tantomile dear, are you all right?"

"I can still function. You have to call Jellylorum right now." She continued pacing, but now more of in a circle than a straight line. The number of steps she was taking increased.

"She keeps saying to get Jelly," Cassandra said. "I haven't gotten her to explain why and whenever I do, she has another reaction."

Jenny grabbed Tantomile by the arm and managed to hold her in place. "Talk to me, what is the matter with you?"

She stared off into space as if she was ignoring her. "What I know is nothing compared to what Coricopat knows."

Cassandra then took off in the direction of the scream that erupted from across the junkyard. Acting on pure instinct, the Gumbie Cat followed with Tantomile in tow.

* * *

The black and white tom yawned as he stared at the entrance to the junkyard, both of his feet dangling from the roof of an abandoned truck. "Such a boring day," he muttered to himself. "But remember that's all part of the job."

Alonzo lazily turned his head to the right and saw Coricopat darting across junk piles as fast as his paws would allow before coming to a sudden and complete stop right by his face. "Where's Munkustrap?"

"He took the group to the Vicarage Wall, remember? I'm in charge until he gets back."

Coricopat was out of breath. "If he's not here, then you have to hide the kittens."

"The kittens are fine right now." Secretly, Alonzo didn't want to leave his post on top of the truck and today it was not out of duty. "What's the matter?"

"You're the leader right now. There's very little time Alonzo."

"I'll help, but you have to tell me what's going on and please don't say that it's another one of your visions."

"It is."

One commonly known fact about Coricopat and Tantomile was that the two of them had shared the same gift since birth. However, a majority of the Jellicles often questioned whether or not it was possible since there was no known record in the tribe's history of any other cats having the very same abilities. Whenever the twins had an epiphany, there was always someone who chose not to believe what they said.

The only cat who always trusted every one of their words was Munkustrap. One of the duties of the tribe protector was to listen to what every cat had to say, regardless of who and what it was related to. At this moment, Munkustrap's second-in-command and eventual successor has forgotten that one particular rule. "Do you even know if anything is going to happen?"

Coricopat was immediately taken aback. He sensed that his sister was having the same difficulties explaining these visions to a couple of queens a short distance away. "Why are you questioning my motives? It seems that before I showed up, someone was about to fall asleep on the job."

Then there was Rumpelteazer's scream.

"Now will you listen to me," Coricopat asked him.

There was another scream, this time from Cassandra. It turned out to be the required motivation to force Alonzo onto his feet.

By the time Alonzo and Coricopat got there, Jennyanydots, Cassandra, Tantomile, Mungojerrie, and Rumpelteazer were huddled around Jellylorum. They joined the circle and looked down at her empty and hollow form.

Kneeling down, Alonzo placed a paw on the side of her neck. When no pulse came, he pulled back. He stood back up, and looked over the body again. A large lump formed in his throat when he saw the extent of the damage done to her. "This wasn't an accident. Whoever's responsible did a real number on her. Wait."

Alonzo turned to the twins, who both responded with looks that said '_told you so_.' He swallowed hard with a lingering desire to hurt himself for all of the times he had doubted them. Thankfully, his mind forced him back to Jellylorum, and he was no longer able to contain his grief. The tears could not be stopped no matter how hard he tried. Alonzo felt his dear Cassandra place her paws around his neck. She buried her face in his fur and let herself sob, holding onto him as she did so.

For reasons that only they seemed to know, the twins showed almost no emotion apart from the wetness gathering in their eyes. Rumpelteazer was trying hard not to lose the mousecakes. Out of all of them, Mungojerrie was the only one that managed not to cry. By contrast, it was proving to be beyond difficult for Jennyanydots, who had known Jellylorum longer than any other Jellicle.

"Alonzo," she croaked. "What do you want to do right now?"

He rubbed his eyes until they were red. It was his job, but he had completely lost sight of what the tribe protector was supposed to do in the rare occasion this happened. "I don't know Jenny."

She straightened up and began to issue the most basic instructions she could come up with. Tantomile had been correct about one thing, and the greatest fear now seemed to be that something else was about to happen. "Alonzo, Cassandra, round up the kittens and take them to your den for now. Rumpelteazer, you and Mungojerrie take Jelly to my den and make sure you cover her up. Coricopat, Tantomile, you two go and find Munkustrap and tell him and the others to come back."

"What about our dear friend the theatre cat?" Alonzo tried to flash an apologetic look at the twins who now had their backs turned to him.

Jennyanydots sighed heavily with dread. "I will go and talk to Gus."

* * *

The queen watched them from a trash heap several feet above them. She gave them one last look and giggled to herself as she turned away.

The silver and black female was pleased with what her unnecessary act of violence had delivered. Now it was time to let even more of the Jellicles grieve.

The queen darted off to see what her dear sister was up to.


	4. IV

DISCLAIMER: _No, I don't own Cats, but I do own the four original characters you're going to meet in this chapter. I normally don't go for OCs, but I needed them in this case. _

* * *

IV.

"Something isn't right."

A pure white kitten rested beside the heated rubber surface of a worn out tire, watching six other youngsters who were engaged in a heated game of tag where a whiny Etcetera had managed to become 'it' again. On any regular day, Victoria would be more than happy to join them.

"How come you're not playing? Cetty's it, so you know it's going to be easy." Her friend Plato eased himself down next to her. "You've been weird all morning."

"I know," she snapped. "I wouldn't be this way if I didn't think we were being watched." Victoria let her head touch her front paws, her sharp youthful eyes pointed at an imaginary black dot straight ahead. "Besides, I don't get why you're all giving Cetty a hard time today."

"It's her own fault for playing that game when she's bad at it." Of all the kittens, Plato was probably the one who showed the least amount of sympathy. "Pounce will never make it easy for her, and what do you mean we're being watched?" He propped his head up on his right paw. "Come on Vicki, there was nothing there."

"I swear I saw a strange cat watching us last night. She ran away when she saw me looking at her. I told Jenny about it."

"Aren't we supposed to tell Munkustrap if we see another cat here?"

"He doesn't care unless the cat's actually in the junkyard." Victoria sighed and playfully slapped Plato in the back of the head, igniting a small yelp of protest from the young tom. "Hey, Electra said she made mousecakes. You want to go get some?"

"Cakes sound good." He made a little lip smacking sound. "Race you to Jenny's."

Victoria yawned. "I don't wanna run Plato."

He laughed at her. Since she had come of age, Victoria rarely wanted to have fun with the other kittens. Plato was the exception, possibly because like Admetus, he had just one more moon left before he was on the same level as her. As they both showed the tribe during the Jellicle Ball, they shared a slight attraction to one another and the adults did not believe it was a strong one. Beyond that one dance, he had yet to make any indication that he was interested in having her for a romantic companion. Seeing as Victoria was just as quiet in nature, he did not know would she would think. Plato simply chose not to give any thought about how his feelings would contrast with her own until the proper time made itself known.

"Are we going or what?" Victoria tore Plato away from his thoughts.

"Yeah," he yelled as he leapt up, grabbed her left paw and ran in the direction of Jenny's den, tugging her along. Victoria tried not to stumble, but Plato was faster than she was. They both found themselves laughing at their own comical attempts to pass one another.

That was before they turned at a corner and collided with a frazzled queen, all three of them hitting the dusty ground hard with no support.

"Be more careful you two," Cassandra said as she leaned over to help Victoria up. "I'm glad I found you, something bad has just happened." She started to walk, but stopped and waited for them to figure out what they were supposed to do.

Victoria and Plato did not protest as she lead them toward her and Alonzo's den. They couldn't help but look at her sore eyes and saw that she had been crying.

The den was a hollowed out mountain of scrap metal that was small, but perfect for the young couple. It was warm and inviting, although kittens were almost never allowed to set foot inside. A majority of the days in a year, they tried to keep their distance from anyone younger than the twins altogether.

Cassandra had no objections to the three of them sitting on the tidy bed of silk blankets. They were silent until her tears began flowing again. Victoria saw her face and put up a paw to brush them away, knowing that she would have been hissed at on a plain day and today was not one of those days.

A few more moments of silence followed before Cassandra finally forced herself to speak. "Alonzo should be back with the other kittens soon."

"Cassie?" She always hated it when cats who weren't Alonzo called her that. Weeping silently, she forced herself to look over at Plato to show that she was listening.

"Why are you crying?"

Cassandra was deprived of the opportunity to answer as Alonzo came into the den with six sobbing kittens in tow. His face clearly communicated to her that he had just done something he should have waited on.

"Did you really have to tell them there," she yelled.

"What else was I supposed to do? I had to get them to stop goofing around before any of them would listen to me." Alonzo's loud voice was laced with both irritation and regret.

* * *

"So what are they doing now?"

"Sounds like kittens crying. I'm guessing they know now."

A short distance away from the den, two queens sat behind a dying bush. They were siblings in that they had the same father, but two different mothers. Both were tall and slender tabbies, only the older one was silver and black, while the younger was a fiery red laced with traces of black. Their fur was not in the best shape and looked as if they had both just decided on one random day to give up bathing.

"Trance," the younger queen asked. "How long are we sitting here for?"

"I don't know River," her sister replied with a bit of annoyance. "Once their guardian returns, the kittens will probably be heavily guarded for a while. It shouldn't be too much of a problem, seeing as that Alonzo lacks the skills required of a real fighter. You could probably take him."

River scratched the ground with a set of claws that were sharper than they should be, leaving a set of long wavy lines in the dirt. "I know that. I mean, where the hell is Blaise? We can't do squat if he isn't here."

"Fool said he would show up when he was done with the chain. He's sure taking his sweet time."

Trance looked up, her eyes widening as Mungojerrie and Rumpelteazer walked through the clearing in silence, their heads hung low. "You bloody traitors, this is where you went?"

"What?" River was about to doze off.

"Look who ran off to join the Jellicles. I kept telling him they were idiots."

Leaning back against the small rotting branches of the bush, Trance thought for a moment before she came up with an idea.

"What would you say if I told you we were also going to take Macavity's whore back to him?"

"I would say that now it's getting personal." River simply could not handle Trance's obsession with Macavity, which moved into dangerous territory after he chose Rumpelteazer over her as the mother of his kittens. After she and Mungojerrie left the organization, Trance tried repeatedly to get him to sleep with her and was shot down every single time. On top of that, Macavity had always favored them over her and River. It was no secret that Trance hated Mungojerrie and despised Rumpelteazer even more.

"Don't you think that the benefits would be greater if we kindly brought Teazer back to him? Of course, we'll probably have to kill Jerrie first." Trance spoke with excitement and seemed to be on the verge of venturing away from the main objective of capturing the kittens. "Look at her. She's in no condition to fight us. Don't you think it would easy?"

"I do Trance, but we already have a job." River stared straight ahead and avoided Trance's gaze.

"Whatever." Trance stretched herself out on the ground and shut her eyes. "Wake me if someone's coming."

"What if I want to take a nap too?"

"Just wait your freakin' turn."

* * *

The day wore on and the party that had gone to the Vicarage Wall still had yet to return. According to Jennyanydots, Jellylorum's father had managed to handle the news well although he chose to remain in his den for the afternoon.

Word had quickly found its way to Skimbleshanks, who dashed back to the junkyard several hours early. He and Jenny took on the daunting task of comforting the kittens while Alonzo and Cassandra were finally granted a break, which consisted of the two of them sitting outside their den without saying a single word to each other.

When the last cloud left the sky, the queen was fed up with hearing only the sound of birds that would likely become their food within the next few days. "I'm asking you something now while Demeter's not here."

Alonzo had been laying on his right side, staring blankly at a torn semi tire several feet away. In need to something else to look at, he lifted his head. "What's up?"

"Do you think it was Macavity?"

"If you ask me, I don't know. I honestly don't think Macavity would go that far, but I remember that Jelly was the first one to beg Deuteronomy to get rid of him."

"You're saying that you don't think it was him, but it's not impossible."

"Yeah, but why are you asking?"

Cassandra sighed and sat up. "I just have the feeling we're up against something that has it in for all for us and Jelly was the first."

Alonzo slowly put his arms around her shoulders and pressed his forehead against her right cheek. "You're starting to sound like Tantomile and Coricopat."

"We tried to ignore the warnings," she whispered. "Look what happened. Are they right about the kittens too?"

He nuzzled her gently. "I won't doubt them anymore, but they didn't say what would happen and that's the part that worries me. I'd ask if there was something else, but I doubt they want to speak to me at the moment."

"I get what you mean." Cassandra turned her head and kissed him, her paws stroking his back briefly. "This is probably the wrong time, but do you want to work some more on our kittens?"

"Do you think they're going to be dead tomorrow, is that it?" Not only was Alonzo not in the mood, but found himself unable to believe that Cassandra would want to make love now.

She saw this in his expression and threw a paw straight across his face. "It's because I really need you right now and yes, I do think something will happen to them."

Alonzo put a paw up toward a small bruise that was beginning to form near his left eye. "That hurt Cassie."

"I'm sorry." She put her face close to his and gave the dark purple area a small lick. "Please do it for me."

Cassandra tried to kiss him again, but Alonzo pushed her away. "No." He got up and headed back to his post, not once looking back to see that she was crying again.

* * *

A dark-colored tom sped through the outer reaches of the junkyard, halting when he found who he was looking for.

"Tell me what you think River." He held up a long metal pole that was an inch in diameter. Connected to it were eight separate chains with four on each side. "If I had more time, I would've crafted something much better."

"That's nice Blaise." She took the pole from him, the chains rattling as she turned it over in her paws. "But how are you and Graham supposed to hold it?"

"We don't. This is going to make our work easier. Two of us just have to walk in front of them while the other two walk behind them to make sure they don't try to run. Plus as a bonus, our paws are free to do whatever we like." Blaise looked down at the ground and saw a napping Trance. "She making you do everything again?"

River nodded in reply. "About the only thing she's worried about is how big our rewards will get if we can grab Rumpelteazer too."

"I saw them a little bit ago and wondered about the same thing."

"Not you too. We got enough to do already."

"What's your problem River, it's an excellent idea. I think we ought to vote on it once Graham finds us."

River was seeing the small flaws in this proposal that Blaise and Trance obviously didn't. "Let's look at this again. We have to find a convenient time in which to grab and chain eight kittens before high-tailing it out of here. We have to watch them during the walk back to the compound which is going to take an entire day. Macavity's going to watch them to make sure they cry in addition to watching us to make sure we don't screw up."

Blaise thought for a second before concocting an idea that in reality was more ridiculous than it sounded. "How about just giving her to Macavity before we leave?"

"I seriously don't think he would go for that. Haven't you noticed that he doesn't care about her? Oh, and Trance also wants to behead Mungojerrie while we're at it."

"Does she really want to cut his head off?"

"Well maybe not in that specific way, but she wants to kill him. Can you keep a secret?"

"Maybe," Blaise said as he scratched himself behind one of his ears. "What are we talking about?"

River then muttered words that more than likely would have incurred Trance's wrath if she had been awake at the time. "I honestly don't see what the point was in killing that poor queen. She was innocent. Why did he want us to hurt her like that?"

She hoped that he could answer her and tell her that Macavity did have a reason for ordering her and Trance to give Jellylorum a brutal entrance to the Heaviside Layer. Instead, he laughed at her. "Now you're being stupid."

Blaise sat down on a patch of grass and closed his mind to anything else that she had to say. River tried to refrain from looking at him and Trance for what was left of the day.

* * *

Another hour inched by with still no word from Munkustrap and his group. The twins were also nowhere to be found, though Alonzo had the feeling that they never bothered going to look for them.

He never left his spot on top of the car by the junkyard entrance, his mind flipping back and forth to Cassandra and what exactly it was that they desired of one another. Both had been abandoned at a very young age and grew up under the care and guidance of Jennyanydots and Skimbleshanks.

As kittens, they rarely got along though it was usually Alonzo who hit her on a regular basis for little or no reason. These incidents peaked when they got into yet another argument, only this one ended with Alonzo breaking Cassandra's wrist on a thick tree branch. The way the pain made her scream and cry sent him into hiding underneath a rusted green truck until the railway cat found him five hours later.

Jennyanydots and Skimbleshanks spent the next hour discussing what kind of punishment would fit him, but came to the decision to let him off the hook if he devoted at least one hour of his time to her and promised to never hit her again. He had no choice but to agree since they left no clue as to what would happen if he refused.

Alonzo found Cassandra alone in a clearing by Jenny's den, whimpering softly as she caressed her bandaged wrist. "Hi Cassandra," he said as he approached her.

"Leave me alone." If she had not been in pain, she would have moved when he sat down next to her.

He looked down at the wound and saw a few bits of red mixed in with the white cloth. "Can I see it?"

"Don't touch me!" Alonzo ignored her protests and pulled her arm to him. "Please don't do that."

He looked at the area again and slowly ran a paw across, eliciting another sharp yelp from her. Whenever he thought of this moment later on, Alonzo could never figure out why he was driven to do what he did as his way of apologizing. He brought her wrist to his lips and planted a series of small kisses on it.

"You actually care about me," she asked.

Alonzo refused to allow himself to answer her, even after she leaned over and wrapped both of her arms around him, pressing her face against his fur. "I'm sorry about all those times I made fun of you."

"It's okay." He put his own arms around her and kissed her cheek, a clear indication that they had now forgiven one another.

After that night, Alonzo and Cassandra became close friends and over time, they learned that there was one thing they both desired. Their shared desperation for a real family led them to become mates. Around that time, Alonzo realized they were destined to be together when he went to the Gumbie Cat's den one night and shared their decision with Skimbleshanks.

"Do you recall what happened when you snapped Cassie's arm," Skimble asked as he handed him a small glass containing a somewhat foul smelling amber liquid.

"Yes, but why?" Alonzo accepted the glass.

"Well, Jenny and I watched how the two of you were always clawing at each other. Then, you gave her an actual physical injury. We've never shared this with any of the cats your age, but that's also how we ended up together. That's why we chose not to give you an actual punishment. We wanted to see if it would happen to the two of you." He filled another glass with the same liquid.

"You actually beat up Jenny?"

Skimbleshanks nodded. "Deuteronomy will tell you all about that and how surprised he was at the speed in which we kissed and made up." He raised his glass. "Here's to you and your mate. Hope you treat her well."

Alonzo raised his glass and followed Skimble's lead as he downed the liquid, causing him to gag and cough right away. "What is that?"

"Oh that's scotch. Isn't it just wonderful?" Skimbleshanks quickly refilled his glass.

* * *

"Come back to me Alonzo."

Cassandra had come to his post and now had him in a tight embrace. "I'm sorry if I gave you the wrong idea. Jelly was important to all of us, you know?"

"I understand. Want to stay here for a while? I can't really leave again."

They kissed again and sat up with a sudden start. On the ground outside the junkyard gate were the shadows of Jellicles finally returning home after a long day.

"Now how do I handle this," he muttered.


	5. V

Disclaimer: _Cats does not belong to me. However, Macavity's subordinates Trance, River, Blaise and Graham are mine and may not be used without my consent. Then again, why would you want to? They're pretty useless outside this story._

* * *

V.

Sunset was approaching slowly and everything remained the same as it had been that afternoon. Every now and then, a car would pass and a pollicle would bark. Still, the junkyard itself was silent except for some low vocal activity from the strangers behind the bush. They were soon joined by a dark yellow and black tom carrying a small but bulky burlap sack.

Blaise had decided to take a nap on a torn mattress when the bag was slammed down next to his head, sending him a foot or so into the air. "Hello Graham," he muttered once he was back down on all fours.

Graham gave a nod to the sisters then sharply turned to Blaise. "Macavity would like to know whether or not we've given up on this mission. Do we have a plan or not?"

"Oh we do," Trance replied. "You're here. Now we just need to get them to come out here."

"He said the kittens should be playing outside. Are you telling me you didn't hide the body?"

"He didn't tell us to hide the body and it wouldn't have helped much." Trance went back to scratching a small square of green shag carpet she and River found earlier.

* * *

The immediate second he set foot inside the gate, Munkustrap knew that the atmosphere was not what it was the day before. Setting down the small plastic bag he had been holding he looked around for any signs of life. "Alonzo are you out here?"

"Up here Munku." Alonzo waved to him from on top of the truck with Cassandra by his side. "Give me a minute, we need to talk," he whispered in her ear.

"We need to talk all right," Munkustrap yelled back. "We need to talk about where we're going to keep all the food." The silver tabby seemed to be in a good mood until he looked at Alonzo's expression. "How come you look like someone just died?"

_Great, they don't know. This is going to be bad_, Alonzo thought to himself as he leapt off the truck. "So, no one came to talk to you?"

"Who would talk to us?" A tall and handsome Maine Coon came up to them with four similar bags in his arms. "What's up 'Lonz? You look like Skimble when there's no tea."

Alonzo stared at them in disbelief. "Jenny sent Coricopat and Tantomile out to find you and tell you what happened." He felt his voice tremble once he knew where he was headed. After his mishap with the kittens, delivering bad news was something that he was now afraid of doing, whether or not it was part of his role as second-in-command on tribal defense.

Munkustrap's suspicions were now confirmed. "I haven't seen the twins all day. Alonzo, did something happen here?"

Knowing his friend and superior was not going to let him go, Alonzo felt sick to his stomach as he gave a heavily detailed explanation of the actions made by the twins, the discovery of the pulverized queen, and the reactions from the kittens. What he didn't mention was how he nearly fell apart after realizing there was a possibility she could have been saved if he had only opened his ears to Coricopat's words. Though he knew it himself, he did not care to say that the reason Munkustrap was not informed sooner was that Jenny's appointed messengers were angry with them for not taking them seriously.

When he was done, Alonzo looked back to see if Cassandra was still on the truck roof and saw that she had disappeared. With virtually no support left, he collapsed on his knees in front of Munkustrap. "I was careless," he sobbed.

"What are you talking about?" A part of Munkustrap wanted to hug him, but the rest of him wanted to only listen to him.

"Coricopat told me something was about to happen to Jelly and I didn't listen. She died because I was so stupid." He was now hunched over, his head on his paws and his tears leaking down onto the ground.

Alonzo felt a pair of paws around his shoulders lift him back up onto his feet. Surprisingly, they belonged to the Rum Tum Tugger. "Come on, we're going to Jenny's," he said quietly.

"I'll be there in a little bit," Munkustrap said. "I need a minute to think."

Alonzo followed Tugger. Once he was out of sight, Munkustrap slumped down to the ground. Slowly, he absorbed the words that had just befallen his ears.

_How do you deal with something like this?_ Munkustrap could not provide himself with an answer, having never witnessed a crime of that sort. He was supposed to be the one that carried at least a healthy majority of the answers. It frustrated him deeply.

"Munku, are you okay?"

He looked up with watery eyes and saw a beautiful gold queen standing in front of him with concerned eyes. "I'm not okay Demi," he whispered as he put his arms around her and pressed his face into her fur. "Let me explain."

* * *

"You mean to tell me that those two decided they couldn't handle the job anymore and came here?" Graham nibbled lightly on one of his claws, listening to Trance talk about her greatest discovery to date.

"Yep," she said as she scratched herself behind a flea-infested ear. "I do have to admit Teazer's coming among nicely. Macavity did a pretty good job on her."

Graham leaned back on the ground and rested his paws on his chest. "I like your idea. There's one problem."

"To hell with the kittens, we both know she's worth more than all of them together."

"That's not it." He looked over at Trance with a rather large grin on his face. "Let's take care of our mission first. Once we've done that, you and River can come back and get Teazer. Now, the problem I was referring is whether the boss is going to want to wait on you. If he really cared about her, he would have sent you out to get her sooner."

"Does it matter what he thinks right now? Whenever we got a great opportunity, they always stole it from us. Either I'm going to bring her back or I'm going to kill her, her friend, and her kittens."

Of his three co-workers, Trance was the one Graham liked the least. All four of them hated Rumpelteazer and Mungojerrie, but he and Blaise believed that joining the Jellicles was punishment enough. Clearly, just seeing the rival queen again was driving her insane. "You do what you want, but I'm going to get those kittens."

* * *

When the moon had finally risen, they all clung to one another at some point and cried into each other's shoulders as they all left the junkyard to return the queen's body to her owners. Alonzo volunteered to go out in the morning and pass the word to the Jellicles that were outside of the habitat.

What none of them noticed was that four cats sat snickering to themselves when they realized that now was their chance to finish what they started.


	6. VI

_A/N: Like I said, review, review, and review. As an advance warning, parts of this were written on my laptop during a power outage in the wee hours of the morning. However, it granted me the best state of mind that I've had so far while writing this fic._

Disclaimer: _Isn't it obvious by now?_

* * *

VI.

It had fallen well after dark when the Jellicles returned, having left Jellylorum on the doorstep of her owner's home before slipping away unnoticed. Despite the late hour, no one had a lingering desire to go to bed.

A large battery-operated lantern was placed in the center of the junkyard when it was decided that there could be no waiting and now was the time for a tribal meeting.

Munkustrap sat down in front of the glowing light and waited for the others to organize themselves. He did not expect a small form to lean up against his side in attempt to get his attention. Turning his head to the right, he saw just one of the many things he lived for. "You feeling okay Jemi," he asked her.

Jemima welcomed his embrace as she pressed her head against him. "I guess. Why would someone do that to Jelly?"

"I don't know," Munkustrap said as he stroked her back. "Sometimes things happen that we can't explain whether we like or not."

She looked up at him with bright blue eyes. "No one else is going to get hurt, right?"

Of all the kittens, Jemima was the youngest and sweetest. It was because of her nature that she cared deeply for every other cat in the tribe and hated seeing one of them get hurt for a reason other than something caused by the kittens. She was easily frightened, but always had Demeter and Munkustrap there to tell her it was okay. Secretly, he was stunned that she had managed to recover from her first real loss this quickly.

On the other hand, Munkustrap could tell by Jemima's voice that she was still a little shaken inside. "Of course not. I'm the tribe guardian and it's my job to make sure nothing bad happens to any of the Jellicles, especially you and your mother." He kissed her on the forehead and tightened his hold on her. "I love you both too much to let anything happen."

A young tom approached them. "Munkustrap, do we have to stay here?"

Thinking to himself for a moment, the idea of letting the kittens have some time to themselves wasn't the greatest. Then again, they had been crying in a den almost the entire day so it should be no surprise they had energy left to burn. "I suppose not Tumblebrutus. Just try to stay where we can see you."

"Can I go with them," Jemima asked.

"You forgot something."

"May I please go with them?"

"Yes you may." Letting go of her, he managed a small smile as he watched her join her friends.

Demeter saw his face and let herself give a small giggle. "What this? Does Munkustrap actually have something to be happy about?" Darting behind him, she brought both paws around her mate's collared neck and pushed them down toward his chest. "How is she?"

"Other than wanting to know why, I think she'll be back to normal in the morning. What about you?"

"There are two things I'm having trouble believing," Demeter said as she leaned her head against his upper back, listening to his slow and relaxed breathing. "One is that Jelly's gone and the other is that it was a murder. I think I'm having an easier time with the first one." She nuzzled the underside of his face, his left arm slowly stroking her back.

"I should probably get started now," he muttered.

* * *

Inactivity had once again caused Trance, River, and Blaise to fall asleep. Graham kept watch, snorting with disgust when a little tri-colored kitten hugged her grey and black-striped father. His eyes followed her as she walked beside a tom toward the tribe's other younger members.

"Brilliant," Graham muttered to himself, a wide smile forming on his heavily neglected face. He kicked Blaise in his side, sending a physical wave that managed to awaken all three cats.

"What now," River groaned as she made a half-hearted attempt to pick herself up off the ground.

"Sit up and look."

* * *

"As you all know," Munkustrap began. "We were caught off guard today by at least one uninvited guest who succeeded in sending our dear Jellylorum to Heaviside, but not in an acceptable fashion. Now, Alonzo has already agreed to head to the Vicarage Wall at sunrise. In the meantime, I want to know everything that happened while I was away and I want accurate and honest answers."

Tugger raised his paw from across the circle. "I just have a quick question. Do you think it was-"

"No, I don't think it was Macavity."

The circle fell completely silent at the mention of the name. Everyone looked to see if Demeter was going to react and did not notice that Mungojerrie and Rumpelteazer were shifting uncomfortably in their spots.

She broke the silence. "He wouldn't do this."

"I know it couldn't have been him," Jennyanydots said. "Munkustrap, there's something I know I should've mentioned to you before and Jelly was the only one I told."

* * *

A reasonable distance away from the circle, the kittens sat by themselves in silence. Though Munkustrap thought they were going to play, none of them were in the mood.

"Why are we over here," Pouncival asked out of the blue.

"They've got a lot of stuff to talk about," Tumblebrutus replied. "We can't bother them right now Pounce."

"It's probably stuff we don't want to know about," Admetus whispered back. "But I think Munkustrap's just asking what everyone was doing today."

"I know," Pouncival stuttered. "I just think we should do something if we're here."

"I have an idea."

They all turned to look at Victoria, who had wrapped herself in Plato's arms. "Let's talk about a memory we have about Jelly." She found herself unable to think of a better distraction, but one thing she learned from Jellylorum was that talking about your feelings was essential for a healthy life emotionally.

* * *

"Jenny, what is it?"

The Gumbie Cat sighed and shifted slightly in her spot. "Victoria came to me the other night and told me she got a good look at a cat who's not a Jellicle."

Munkustrap stood up and walked over to where she was beside Skimbleshanks and kneeled down in front of her, his front paws touching the ground. "What exactly did she see?"

"She didn't give much of a description." Her voice quivered as she struggled to continue. "She said it was a queen who looked a lot like you in terms of your colors and that she looked very unclean."

A small squeak made its way to his ears. His head suddenly turned to see looks of horror upon the two thieves. "What's wrong with you?"

"N-n-nothing at all," Mungojerrie stammered as he grabbed Rumpelteazer's paw. _Please don't let it be her, please don't let it be her._

Munkustrap ignored him. "Jenny, I'd like to talk to Victoria if that's all right."

"I don't know if she could tell you anything else dear."

"Jenny, we need to know." Skimbleshanks winced a bit with age as he stood up. "I'll go get her Munkustrap."

He returned a little while later with Victoria, who seemed a bit hurt about being pulled away from the reminiscing session she had been conducting. Munkustrap noticed this and softened his voice down to a tone of comfort. "If you ever feel a little uncomfortable, you may go ahead and leave. Do you understand?"

Sitting still between Jennyanydots and Skimbleshanks, she gave a tiny, but visible nod.

"Okay then. Victoria, tell me everything you know about this cat you saw the other day."

What she said was one of those things a kitten should never ask an adult unless they know what they're doing. "You mean you actually care?"

"Of course I care," he said. "You didn't think I would believe you. Is that why you didn't tell me?"

She gave another small nod, her eyes dampening themselves again.

Munkustrap sighed and made a quickly upward glance at the moon before moving back to the white kitten. "Well I'm listening to you now and you know very you can always talk to me. You saw a grey and black queen who had not bathed in a long time, am I correct?"

There was another nod, the smallest one so far.

"That's all we needed. Thank you Victoria."

He watched as she ran back to her group and then looked at her caretakers. "Do you think I upset her?"

Jennyanydots reached for one of Munkustrap's arms and pulled it toward her, planting a small kiss on his paw before releasing it. "No Munku, it has to be something else."

* * *

It was something else, as Victoria was nearly hysterical when she threw herself down on the ground in front of her peers. "It was my fault," she cried. "Why didn't I tell Munkustrap?"

They all leaped over to help her, but Admetus grabbed her first, his arms wrapped around her chest. "What's your fault?"

"The cat I saw," she grasped. "It was that cat who hurt Jelly. I could've stopped her if I told him like I was supposed to!"

Admetus looked away in disbelief and was greeted with eyes of deep concern from Plato. "Can you take her somewhere else?"

Plato said nothing as her took Victoria by the paw and led her away. "What cat is she talking about," Electra asked when they were out of earshot.

"There is no cat," Admetus muttered.

"What cat hurt Jelly?" This time it was Etcetera.

"I said there's no cat! Victoria still doesn't know that."

Electra and Etcetera both backed away. Pouncival, Tumblebrutus, and Jemima stayed still and kept their mouths closed.

* * *

He knew they had gone farther than they should have, but it had a low ranking on the list of Plato's worries. At the top was the crying young female holding on to him. "This should be a nice spot."

The spot he was referring to was one of the junkyard's wider open areas with a healthy amount of grass and only a few bits of trash, but was a tad bit out of reach of the lighting system. The two felines eased themselves down onto the ground, Victoria trying to regain control of her emotions.

"You have to stop crying," Plato said as he hugged her. "You did not do anything to be sorry for."

"Do you believe me now?"

He leaned back until he could see her face, mainly her red and swollen eyes. He wanted to make her feel better, but wasn't prepared to lie in order to do it. "I can't say I do just to make you happy."

Victoria looked down at her feet and sighed. "Would you believe me if something else happened?"

He didn't want to answer her out of the hope that nothing else happened. He could sense she wanted him to trust her. Plato wanted to agree, but not because she believed that her not talking to Munkustrap in the first place started this ordeal.

"Plato?" She had managed to dry her eyes properly and was now staring at him to pull him out of his own thoughts. Even if he had been paying attention, he probably would not have been ready for her kiss. Victoria had thrown her arms back around him and locked his lips with hers, her frame entirely pressed against his.

The nirvana they were both in served as a distraction. Within seconds, two chains had somehow wrapped themselves around their necks. Once they were locked in place, the steel links were yanked hard, and Plato and Victoria both screamed as they were dragged across the grass.


End file.
